SOI technology consists in separating a thin silicon layer (a few nanometers in thickness) from a silicon substrate, using a relatively thick insulating layer (a few tens of nanometers in thickness as a general rule).
Integrated circuits produced in SOI technology have a number of advantages. Such circuits generally have a lower power consumption for an equivalent performance, or a better performance for a given consumption. Such circuits also induce lower parasitic capacitances, making it possible to improve switching speed. In addition, latch up, which is encountered in bulk technology metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistors, may be prevented. Such circuits therefore prove to be particularly suitable for system on chip (SoC) or microelectromechanical system (MEMS) applications. It has also been observed that SOI integrated circuits are less sensitive to the effects of ionizing radiation and thus prove to be more reliable in applications where such radiation may cause malfunctions, especially space applications. SOI integrated circuits may notably comprise active static random access memory (SRAM) or logic gates.